Walthamstow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Walthamstow
Clockwise from top: Central Parade (on the corner of Hoe Street and Church Hill), Walthamstow Library and the William Morris Gallery
Walthamstow
Population	109,424 (2011 Census)
OS grid reference	TQ372891
• Charing Cross	7.5 mi (12.1 km) SW
London borough	Waltham Forest
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	E17
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Walthamstow
London Assembly	North East
List of places UK England London 51°35′N 0°00′E / 51.59°N -0.0°E / 51.59; -0.0

Walthamstow is a large town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London and the ancient county of Essex. Situated 7+1⁄2 miles (12 kilometres) northeast of Charing Cross, the town borders Chingford to the north, Snaresbrook and South Woodford to the east, Leyton and Leytonstone to the south, and Tottenham to the west. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of approximately 109,424.

Occupying most of the town's east-to-west High Street, Walthamstow Market is the longest outdoor market in Europe. East of the town centre is Walthamstow Village, the oldest part of Walthamstow, and the location of St Mary's Church, the town's parish church. To the north of the town is the former Walthamstow Stadium, which was considered an East End landmark. The William Morris Gallery in Forest Road, a museum that was once the family home of William Morris, is a Grade II* listed building. The town is served by five railway stations, including Walthamstow Central and Blackhorse Road—interchange stations on the Victoria line of the London Underground.

The administrative centre of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local government district of Greater London, Walthamstow was a civil parish, originally part of the Becontree Hundred of Essex. Similar to much of south-west Essex, the town expanded rapidly in the 19th century, becoming a suburb in the urban area of London. It has formed part of the Metropolitan Police District since 1840, and the London postal district since its inception in 1856. The parish became a local board district in 1873, an urban district in 1894 and a municipal borough in 1929. Following reform of local government in London in 1965, it merged with the municipal boroughs of Chingford and Leyton to form the new Waltham Forest local authority district, moving from the administrative county of Essex to the newly-formed Greater London council area. The borough council is based at the former Walthamstow Town Hall in Forest Road.

History

Toponymy

Walthamstow is recorded c. 1075 as Wilcumestowe ("the Place of Welcome") and in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Wilcumestou.

Early history

King John visited Shern Hall (Shernhall Street) in 1213; the building survived until 1896. At one point Walthamstow was just a culmination of five small villages, and affairs were discussed at Vestry House, acting as the first town hall. In 1870 it had grown to the size of a small suburb and a town hall was built in Orford Road from which affairs of the village were run (which now takes place in Forest Road - since 1941). Until the 19th century it was largely rural, with a small village centre (now Walthamstow Village — see below) and a number of large estates.

The main route through the district was the aforementioned Hoe Street. Additionally, there were various smaller lanes, crossing the town. The road now known as Forest Road was originally called Clay Street. Further south, the High Street was named Marsh Street, and led from the original settlement out to the marshes. Shernhall Street is an ancient route, as is Wood Street, to the east. In the 1660s Sir William Batten, Surveyor of the Navy, and his wife Elizabeth Woodcocke had a house here where, according to Samuel Pepys, they lived "like princes" and cultivated a vineyard.

The Nag's Head in Orford Road, Walthamstow Village

Urban development

With the advent of the railways and the ensuing suburbanisation in the late 19th century, Walthamstow experienced a large growth in population and speculative building.

Hoe Street, looking north, 1955

The Lighthouse Methodist Church on Markhouse Road.

The Grade II listed building of the former Jones's Butchers Shop in Wood Street, dating back to the late 18th century

The Lighthouse Methodist Church which dates from 1893 which is situated on Markhouse Road, on the corner of Downsfield Road. There is a lantern at the top of the tower, which also contains a spiral staircase. The church was erected because of the generosity of Captain David King of the shipbuilding firm of Bullard King & Co which also ran the Natal Direct Shipping Line, which ran ships direct from London to Durban without stopping at the Cape.

The LGOC X-type and B-type buses were built at Blackhorse Lane from October 1908 onwards. The B-type is considered one of the first mass-production buses. The manufacturing operation later became AEC, famous as the manufacturer of many of London's buses. On 13 June 1909, A. V. Roe's aircraft took to the air from Walthamstow Marshes. It was the first all-British aircraft and was given the ominous nickname of the "Yellow Terror" but officially carried the name Avro1. Roe later founded the Avro aircraft company, which later built the acclaimed Avro Lancaster.

Local government

From 1894 Walthamstow was an urban district and from 1929 a municipal borough in Essex. In 1931 the population of the borough, covering an area of 4,342 acres (17.57 km²), peaked at 132,972. In 1965 the borough was abolished and its former area merged with that of the Municipal Borough of Chingford and the Municipal Borough of Leyton to form the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Greater London. Other places in east London formerly of the county of Essex, such as Ilford and Romford were placed into London Boroughs along with Walthamstow. None of the postal district names or codes was changed at this time (e.g. Ilford remained Ilford, Essex, and Walthamstow remained London E17).

Recent history

Since the 2012 Summer Olympics, the town has become increasingly popular mostly as a result of gentrification. Local property prices have increased at a high rate of 22.3% from 2013-2014, compared to London's average of 17.8%. It has turned Walthamstow into a 'trendy' town similar to Shoreditch, and has earned the nickname Awesomestow as a result. The leafy Walthamstow Village in particular has become sought-after by buyers.

On 29 May 2015, a regular local unicyclist was hit and dragged under by a double decker route 212 bus in Hoe Street. Locals numbering up to 100 people helped to pull the bus off the unicyclist. The MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy, later said she was "proud" of the community for saving the unicyclist's life.

Geography

Walthamstow is bordered to the north by Chingford, south by Leyton and Leytonstone, east by the southern reaches of Epping Forest at Woodford and west by Tottenham and the River Lea valley. Leyton High Road, Hoe Street, Chingford Road, Chingford Mount (passing south-north through Walthamstow and its neighbouring towns) form part of an ancient route from London to Waltham Abbey.

Warner properties

St Mary The Virgin, the oldest building in Walthamstow, dating as far back as the 13th century

Walthamstow Central is the main town centre and includes Selborne Road and the High Street.

Walthamstow Village conservation area is a peaceful and attractive district to the east of what has become the commercial centre of Walthamstow. The area is roughly defined as being south of Church Hill, west of Shernhall Street, north of Grove Road and east of Hoe Street. Orford Road is the main route through the district, though even this is a quiet thoroughfare by the standards of London. The village has a small selection of specialist shops, pubs and restaurants, and house prices tend to be higher in the streets of this neighbourhood. It was voted best urban village in London by Time Out magazine in 2004.

Upper Walthamstow is to the east of Walthamstow Village. The area's main thoroughfare is Wood Street, which has a good selection of shops and local businesses, and is served by railway, with a railway station on the Liverpool Street to Chingford line.

Wood Street is home to Wood Street Indoor Market. The market was the site of a cinema from 1912 to 1955, operated by the Penny Picture Theatre Co. It re-opened under new independent management in 1953 as the Rio Cinema, but this was short lived and it closed in 1955. Now the market is filled with quirky market traders, and was documented in a short documentary made by Mark Windows.

Walthamstow has a wide variety of housing stock, but the vast majority of residential property was built in the early 20th century. From Coppermill Lane in the west (next to the marshes), to Wood Street in the east, there are scores of terraced streets dating to the Edwardian era and the 1920s. The area along Markhouse Road and St James Street has many examples of Warner properties. These were developed as affordable housing for the working classes in the early part of the 20th century. Bombing raids in the Second World War and urban redevelopment projects in the 1960s and 1970s have left areas with more modern housing, mostly in the shape of low-rise concrete blocks.

The northern continuation of Markhouse Road is St James's Street to which Blackhorse Road follows, served by underground and railway stations, which in turn becomes Blackhorse Lane. This is bound on its western side by industrial units and warehouses. The London Borough of Waltham Forest has proposed developing the area around Blackhorse Road railway station to become a gateway to the town.

Highams Park and Hale End, though both in the E4 postcode, are historically part of Walthamstow.

Part of Lloyd Park, near Forest Road

Although bounded by the marshes to the west and parts of Epping Forest to the east, there is little open space in the actual town. There used to be two commons in the town, Church Common, adjacent to St. Mary's Church in Walthamstow Village and Markhouse Common, located off Markhouse Lane (now Markhouse Road) and what is now the western end of Queens Road. Both open spaces were lost in the 19th century, when the land was sold to property developers. Lloyd Park has been open to the public since 1900 and is located in Forest Road behind the William Morris Gallery. It has a formal garden with a pond, and the adjacent Aveling Field has facilities for bowling, tennis, basketball, an outdoor gym, a skate park and a children's play area.

Demography

Warner properties

Walthamstow roughly approximates to seven of the electoral wards within the London Borough of Waltham Forest: Chapel End (northeastern part), Higham Hill (northwestern part), High Street (western), Hoe Street (inner-eastern and Walthamstow Village), Markhouse (southwestern), William Morris (northern), and Wood Street (eastern and Upper Walthamstow). The 2011 census counted a total population of 109,424 of all these wards combined.

As of the 2011 census, White British is the largest ethnicity in all wards. Other White is the second largest in all wards except Markhouse. The other double-digit ethnicities are Pakistani and Black African. The minority ethnic proportion ranges from 48.5% in Chapel End to 58.2% in Markhouse.

The male life expectancy ranged from 77.2 years in Hoe Street to 82.1 years in Chapel End; the female life expectancy ranged from 82.1 years in both Higham Hill and Hoe Street to 84.8 years in High Street. This data covers 2009–2013.

The median house price as of 2014 was highest in Wood Street ward (£387,500) and lowest in Markhouse ward (£324,000).

Transport

Walthamstow Central bus and train stations

Rail

Walthamstow is served by trains on the London Underground, London Overground and National Rail networks.

Walthamstow Central is the area's busiest interchange. It is the northern terminus of the London Underground Victoria line, which provides the area with a direct connection to Tottenham, the West End and Brixton. The station is also served by London Overground services between London Liverpool Street and Chingford, via Hackney Downs.

There is an out-of-station interchange with Walthamstow Queen's Road, which is on the London Overground between Gospel Oak and Barking.

Blackhorse Road is to the west of Walthamstow, and is also served by Victoria line trains and London Overground trains between Gospel Oak and Barking.

Other stations include St James Street and Wood Street, on the London Overground between Liverpool Street and Chingford.

Lea Bridge is also nearby, served by Greater Anglia trains between Stratford and Bishop's Stortford, via Tottenham Hale and Harlow, with onward connections to London Stansted Airport.

All railway stations are in London fare zone 3, except Wood Street, which is in zone 4.

Buses

London Buses routes 20, 34, 55, 58, 69, 97, 123, 158, 212, 215, 230, 257, 275, 357, 675, W11, W12, W15, W16, W19 and night routes N26, N38 and N73 serve the area.

Walthamstow Bus Station is next to Walthamstow Central station, along Selborne Road.

Road

Several arterial routes pass through Walthamstow which link the district to other areas in London and the East of England.

To the north, the A406 (North Circular) runs east–west around Walthamstow. The road links the district to Ilford, the M11 (for Stansted Airport) and London City Airport to the east. To the west, the North Circular passes through Edmonton, Finchley and Brent Cross en route to Chiswick. The route meets the M1 and M4 motorways (for Luton and Heathrow airports).

To the southeast of nearby Leytonstone, the A12 (Eastern Avenue) carries traffic northeast towards the M25, Romford, and destinations in Essex and Suffolk. Southwest, the A12 passes around Stratford and Hackney Wick before terminating in Poplar.

Other routes include:

• A104 (Lea Bridge Road) – southwest to Lea Bridge and Clapton, northeast to the A406 (North Circular), Buckhurst Hill and Epping Forest.
• A112 (Hoe Street/Chingford Road) – southbound to Leyton, Stratford and London City Airport, northbound to the A406 (North Circular), Chingford and Waltham Abbey.
• A1006 – north–south through Walthamstow carried by Church Road, Markhouse Road, St James's Street and Blackhorse Road.
• A503 (Forest Road) – runs east–west through Walthamstow from the A406 (North Circular) in the east to Tottenham, Holloway and Camden Town to the west.

Air pollution

The London Borough of Waltham Forest monitors kerbside and roadside Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) levels in Walthamstow.

To the north of Walthamstow at the Crooked Billet Roundabout (North Circular), there is an automatic monitoring site which recorded an average NO₂ concentration of 61.1μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre) in 2017. This fails to meet the UK National Air Quality Objective set by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) at 40μg/m3.

Alternative roadside monitoring sites along Hoe Street and Selborne Road also failed to meet the UK National Air Quality Objective, with one diffusion tube on Selborne Road recording an annual average NO₂ concentration of 61.0μg/m3.

Cycling

Transport for London (TfL) and the London Borough of Waltham Forest provide cycling infrastructure in Walthamstow. In 2014, cyclists made up approximately 8.41% of general traffic across the Borough, and in the same year, the Borough was awarded a "Mini Holland" grant by the Mayor of London to improve infrastructure and cycle routes across Walthamstow.

Cycling routes include:

• Quietway 2 – begins at Walthamstow Central and runs along low-traffic streets to Bloomsbury, via Walthamstow Marshes, Clapton, Hackney Central, Angel and Clerkenwell. The route is unbroken and signposted, but indirect.
• Lea Bridge Road Cycle Route – from Leytonstone to Clapton via Lea Bridge. The route runs on segregated cycle track parallel to the A104.
• Forest Road Cycle Route – from Walthamstow to Tottenham on cycle lanes and tracks adjacent to the A503.

The River Lea towpath is also nearby, which provides a direct, traffic-free cycle link from Walthamstow Marshes to Hackney Wick and Stratford to the south, and Tottenham Hale, Enfield Lock, Hertford and Harlow to the north. The towpath also carries National Cycle Route 1 (NCR 1), an unbroken, signposted cycle route from Dover to the Shetland Islands, which in North London carries cyclists from Canary Wharf to Enfield Lock via Victoria Park and Walthamstow Marshes. The route is a shared-use path maintained by the Canal and River Trust and Sustrans.

Culture

In popular music

Walthamstow was home to the popular 1990s boy band East 17, who named themselves after the area's postal code E17, and titled their debut album Walthamstow. The indie rock band The Rifles are from the area as was Jimmy Ray. Ray grew up in the Lloyd Park area and attended Winns primary, and Sidney Chaplin and McEntee secondary schools. In the early 1990s he performed at various E17 venues, including the Royal Standard, as part of local pop group 'The Cutting Room'. Ray later had solo hits in the UK and US. It is home to the band The Bevis Frond.

Walthamstow is a major centre in London's grime music scene, with many bedroom studios and underground music enterprises. Artists include Lethal Bizzle and his band Fire Camp.

The Bromheads Jacket song "Poppy Bird" references Walthamstow in the chorus.

Walthamstow is mentioned in the Paul McCartney and Wings song "Old Siam, Sir" from the 1979 album Back to the Egg.

"Long ago, outside a chip shop in Walthamstow" is the first line of a song named "Ann and Joe", recorded by The Barron Knights in the late 1970s. This was a spoof of "Long ago, high on a mountain in Mexico", the opening words of Angelo, which was a UK number one hit in 1977 for Brotherhood of Man.

"Waiting in Walthamstow" is a song by The Cranberries from the album Roses.

The track the "Battle of Epping Forest" by Genesis on the album Selling England by the Pound has lyrics based in the area such as "Along the Forest Road, there's hundreds of cars - luxury cars."

The artwork for Blur's Parklife album featured photos of the band at Walthamstow Stadium.

The Walthamstow Pumphouse Museum, a Grade II listed building

The newly restored historic neon sign of the Walthamstow Stadium in 2016

Cinema

The Walthamstow Studios operated between 1914 and 1930. EMD (Granada) Walthamstow on Hoe Street closed in 2003 when it was sold to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) but permission for a change of use to a place of worship was repeatedly refused. In 2014 it was sold to a pub company who set up a bar in the grand foyer and tentatively began bringing it back into use as a venue. The Empire cinema opened in December 2014.

Sports clubs

• Waltham Forest F.C.
• Walthamstow Avenue F.C. (defunct club located at Green Pond Road Stadium)
• Walthamstow Avenue & Pennant
• Haringey & Waltham Development F.C.
• Walthamstow Cricket Club

Gallery

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  St Mary's Parish Church dates from the 12th century

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  Walthamstow Old Town Hall

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  15th century "Ancient House" in Walthamstow village

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  Monoux Almshouses in the village

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  Vestry House Museum

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  William Morris Gallery

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  Longitude Zero marker in Upper Walthamstow Road

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  Walthamstow Central Library

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  Selborne Walk Shopping Centre

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  St. Peter's-in-the-Forest church, near Woodford New Road in the southern edge of Epping Forest

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  Walthamstow Reservoir

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  Walthamstow Marshes

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  Front of the bus and train station interchange

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  View of the A406 North Circular Road from a footbridge in eastern Walthamstow, near Woodford

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  The filter beds at Coppermills Treatment Works

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  The old Town Hall

• Portraits of Valentine La Touche McEntee, 1st Baron McEntee of Walthamstow at the National Portrait Gallery, LondonLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Economy

High Street, where the long Walthamstow Market runs five days a week

The Nag's Head in Orford Road, Walthamstow Village

The High Street is dominated by Walthamstow Market, which began in 1885, and occupies all but the last 100 yards of the street. It is reputed to be a mile long, but in fact measures approximately ⅔ of a mile. It is the longest street market in Europe. The market is open five days a week (not Sunday or Monday), and there is a Sunday farmers' market. The street is lined with shops: a selection of high street chains, but also many independent small shops specialising in food, fabrics, and household goods, as well as cafés. The overall tone is downmarket and unique. There are two patches of new-ish development: at Sainsbury's, and The Mall Walthamstow (formerly Selborne Walk) covered shopping centre both of which have large multi-storey car parks. Shopmobility Waltham Forest operates in the Mall, loaning mobility scooters and wheelchairs, with volunteer helpers, to disabled and older people.

The historic central library on the High Street was one of many built with money donated by the Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, whose portrait bust can be seen on the exterior of the building. The library was damaged by a fire in 1982 but modernised and expanded in 2006–07. At the same time, a large plot at the corner of High Street and Hoe Street was set for substantial redevelopment as a retail space. This site was previously the location of the town's central post office and a shopping arcade built in the 1960s. Plans for the redevelopment of this site initially fell through in 2005, but work on a new cinema, flats and restaurants started in April 2013 and was completed in December 2014. As of 2019, confirmed plans will lead to the refurbishment of the town square, new homes in its vicinity and an extension of The Mall.

The Walthamstow Beer Mile, also known as the Blackhorse Beer Mile, is an attraction consisting of a growing number of micro-breweries, and their associated tap-rooms, in and around Blackhorse Road and Blackhorse Lane.

Education

Entrance to Waltham Forest College

Walthamstow secondary schools include:

• Frederick Bremer School
• Forest School
• Holy Family Catholic School
• Kelmscott School
• Walthamstow Academy
• Walthamstow School for Girls
• Willowfield School

Sixth form and further education providers include:

• Big Creative Academy
• Sir George Monoux College
• Waltham Forest College

Notable residents

Former residence of Sir Robert Wigram, who died here in 1830

One of its most famous residents was the writer, poet, designer and socialist William Morris, who was born there on 24 March 1834, and lived there for several years. His former house in Walthamstow is a museum dedicated to his life and works, while the grounds of the house are a public park (Lloyd Park in Forest Road).

Images for kids

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  St Mary The Virgin, the oldest building in Walthamstow, dating as far back as the 13th century

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  Former tramworks on Hatherley Mews dating to the 1880s; these converted stables were used for London's electric trams until 1952

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  Central Parade on the corner of Hoe Street and Church Hill – this was designed by F. G. Southgate and built in 1957 on the site of a 1944 war-era bomb attack that killed 22 people

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  Walthamstow Central Library

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  Hawthorne Road

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  Chingford Road

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  West Avenue

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  Hoe Street

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  Hoe Street

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  Wood Street

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  Wood Street

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  Wood Street

See also

In Spanish: Walthamstow para niños